The Cleveland Guardians kept their foot on the gas after clinching a playoff spot on Thursday afternoon.

They rolled into St. Louis and beat the Cardinals 5-1 on Friday night.

Ben Lively (13-9) pitched the first five innings and gave up just three hits and one run.

Pedro Avila got the next five outs, and then Erik Sabrowski picked up his first save by keeping the Cards off the board for 2 1/3 innings.

The Canadian lefty is another unsung hero of the bullpen, giving up no runs in his first six big-league appearances.

SOLO HOMER PARTY

Jose Ramirez gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead with a bases-loaded single in the third inning. Daniel Schneemann singled to drive in Bo Naylor in the fourth.

St. Louis picked up its only run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double from center fielder Lars Nootbaar.

Cleveland then extended its lead with a series of solo home runs:

·      Jose Ramirez in the fifth (No. 36)

·      Lane Thomas in the sixth (No. 14)

·      Andres Gimenez in the eighth (No. 9)

Thomas got off to a slow start, but he has become a great pickup for the Guardians outfield since arriving from Washington at the trade deadline.

Cleveland improved its record to 90-65. Kansas City lost its fifth straight game and trails by 7½ games, so the magic number is one.

The series will continue tonight at 7:15. Matthew Boyd (2-1) will pitch for Cleveland against the Cardinals’ Miles Mikolas (8-11).